''Silas'' was a 1981

ZDF ZDF (, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; ; "Second German Television") is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all fe ...

adventure TV

mini-series A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

based on the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

children's book ''Silas og den sorte hoppe'' (Silas and the Black Mare) by

Cecil Bødker Cecil Bødker (27 March 1927 – 19 April 2020) was a Danish writer and poet, most known for young adult fiction books about the character "Silas". For her "lasting contribution to children's literature" she received the international Hans Chr ...

who kept on writing installments until 2001. The series was Patrick Bach's debut and because the series did so well he also starred the very next year in another adventure series about a young orphan:

Jack Holborn Jack Holborn was a 1982 ZDF Adventure TV mini-series. The story is based on the 1964 book by Leon Garfield. It was shown in the United Kingdom by ITV. Plot Jack Holborn is a 13-year-old boy living in an orphanage in late 18th-century Bristol. Jac ...

. ''Silas'' was a German production, and despite being recorded in France — Normandy and in Brittany (Bay of Douarnenez, Locronan, Bay of Audierne, near Plovan - on the long sandy beach where the German version of the opening credits were shot) — it was filmed solely in German. Still it received attention beyond German-speaking countries and consequently the successor ''Jack Holborn'' involved international producers and was dub filmed in English.

Plot

As a little child ''Silas'' ( Patrick Bach) was sold to a circus where he learned to pull

stunt A stunt is an unusual and difficult physical feat or an act requiring a special skill, performed for artistic purposes usually on television, theaters, or cinema. Stunts are a feature of many action films. Before computer generated imagery spec ...

s and tricks from early on. This comes in handy when he decides to rather live an adventurous life on his own than to be trained in the dangerous art of sword swallowing. Also being threatened by director ''Philipp'' (

Diether Krebs Diether Krebs (11 August 1947 in Essen, Germany – 4 January 2000 in Hamburg) was a German actor, cabaret artist and comedian. Life and career Youth and initial success Diether Krebs was born on 11 August 1947 in Essen, the son of a station ...

) that the sinews of his feet would be cut just in order to prevent him from running away, it occurs to him it is now or never and off he goes. A farmer called ''Bartolin'' ( Shmuel Rodensky) gives him shelter but underestimates the boy's skills and carelessly bets him his horse. Bartolin cannot accept the outcome of this bet and so Silas is on the run again. Getting hungry he accepts a meal provided by swindler ''Emanuel'' (André Lacombe) and his likewise rogue wife ''Theresa'' (Reine Barteve). They use a strong

barbiturate Barbiturates are a class of depressant drugs that are chemically derived from barbituric acid. They are effective when used medically as anxiolytics, hypnotics, and anticonvulsants, but have physical and psychological addiction potential as we ...

on Silas and disappear with his horse. After Silas awakens in a boat on a river he sees Philipp trying to steal fresh milk from a blind girl. When the girl's mother arrives Philipp puts the blame on Silas, who as a result finds himself in a wooden cage. He has to find a way to gain the family's trust if he wants to escape. While searching for his horse, he meets the scallywag ''Godik'' (Lucki Molocher), who helps him to retrieve the animal. They stick together, both trying to make a living on what they've learned. Silas shows circus tricks and Godik works as a carver. Yet Silas gets into trouble again because he and Godik stumble across a treasure hidden by smugglers. Hunted by the smuggler's gang, they run into homeless young ''Jenny'' (Nina Rothemund), who is running from an unsavoury woman called ''Corby'' (Ingeborg Lapsien). Silas, Godik and Jenny reach a town, where Silas gets the idea of buying a bear with money from the smuggler's treasure. The citizens decide to investigate him over theft. He finds himself in prison with ''Corby'', who once abducted Jenny. Eventually, he learns that Jenny is not really an orphan. Silas and Godik return Jenny to her family. Then Silas accompanies his friend Godik to his family. The lost son Godik is heartily welcomed and so is Silas, but Silas doesn't feel safe and believes his presence is endangering his new friends. On the road again, he makes new friends - he saves merchant ''Sandal'' (Hans Helmut Dickow) and later also his son ''Japetus'' (Armin Schawe) from harm. But ''Corby'' has followed him. She teams up with some other low-lifes, who eventually capture Silas and Japetus for

ransom Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or the sum of money involved in such a practice. When ransom means "payment", the word comes via Old French ''rançon'' from Latin ''red ...

. Sandal's employee ''Karneol'' (Jacques van Dooren) saves them. Corby and her gang are imprisoned. Silas finally feels saved and returns to Godik and his family.

International broadcast

The BBC took the series from Cori Film Distributors and split it into 12 half hour episodes starting on 16 May 1984 with repeats in 1986, 1987 and 1988.

Accolades

Bambi Award 1982 *

: ''Silas'' (Originaltitel: ''Silas og den sorte hoppe''). Deutsch von

Gerda Neumann Gerda Neumann (14 December 1915 – 26 January 1947) was a Danish film actress. She appeared in nine films between 1936 and 1947. She was born in Copenhagen and died in the 1947 KLM Douglas DC-3 Copenhagen airplane crash in Copenhagen, Denm ...

. Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1996, 158 S.,

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0081929 1981 German television series debuts 1981 German television series endings Adventure television series Children's adventure television series Television series about orphans Television series about teenagers German children's television series 1980s German television miniseries ZDF original programming Television shows based on children's books Television shows based on novels Television series set in the 19th century German-language television shows